Snapshots
by Gratiae
Summary: Growing up neighbours, the Desford cousins are as close as siblings. How will Hogwarts and their relationships with friends like Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins and Seamus, Dean and Neville change them? And what of the budding danger of You-Know-Who?
1. Year One: King's Cross

**Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter.**

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><p>'Daddy!' What if I can't pass the test? Will they send me straight home if I can't? Do I get another try?'<p>

Skander Desford looked down at the youngest daughter tugging on his trouser pocket with a distraught expression across her face. 'What test, Siobhán? What are you talking about?'

'Bríd said they make you take a test and if you couldn't turn a teacup into a cauldron that they would simply send you home!' Siobhán tried to pry his fingers away from the trolley's handle.

'There's no test,' Skander assured her calmly. 'Bríd's just having a laugh. Don't you go and believe every little tale she tells you or she'll have you convinced that centaurs can fly and kappa live in the desert.'

'What do I have to do to be sorted, then?'

Skander ruffled her frizzy, chestnut coloured hair fondly, 'All you must do is put on the Sorting Hat. That's all you have to do. The Sorting Hat does the rest of the work.'

'What if I'm not sorted at all? What if the hat doesn't sort me?' Siobhán kept at it as they followed after her mother, two older sisters and younger brother. 'What if the hat says I'm not magical enough for Hogwarts, Daddy? What if I'm a squib?'

'You are plenty magical, Siobhán. No one removes all the cat's hair without being magical enough.'

'What if Griánne really did that and we all just thought it was me?'

'I promise,' Skander stopped the trolley between platforms nine and ten and turned to the anxious little girl, 'you are _not_ going to be sent home. You will be fine. Howgarts sent you your letter and Hogwarts doesn't make mistakes. You ready?'

Siobhán nodded and stared at the brick wall just as two other people disappeared through it. Father and daughter broke into a trot straight towards the wall. They didn't slow back to an even walk until the brightly scarlet Hogwarts Express came into view.

'There they are, Mummy!' A little boy with an uncontrolled mop of brown hair pointed at Skander and Siobhán as they came into view.

'Emmet, careful! You're going to knock over Bacchus!' And older girl scowled at her younger brother as she steadied the rocking cage and tried to sooth the angry Barred owl inside. 'Mum, can I go now? _Pleeeease_?'

'Not yet,' the blonde witch replied calmly, fielding the question for the fifth time in as many minutes.

'But Lee has something in a box and absolutely everyone's seen it but me,' Bríd scowled, tucking a few loose bits of her ash-blonde hair behind her ear, the rest controlled neatly in a plait down her back. 'Fred and George can't see it before I do! Mum, please.'

'Bríd Desford, stop asking right this instant or you will _not_ be given any money for chocolate frogs. You will wait with the rest of us for your cousins. You can see whatever it is Lee has once your on the train.'

'Deirdre, where's Gráinne?' Skander asked as he stopped Siobhán's trolley besides the one in front of his wife.

'I'm here, Daddy,' Gráinne popped into view from behind her trolley, two chocolate brown plaits swirling out as she spun around, the longhaired cat in her arms clawing to get away. 'I didn't do it on purpose!'

'Gráinne, that's the third time you've turned that poor cat purple this summer.'

'At least I didn't make her hairless!' Gráinne defended herself at the expense of her twin. Siobhán looked terrified up at Skander and he sighed.

'You're going to be fine, dear.'

'Mummy, can't I go too?' Emmet jumped off of Bríd's trunk and ran to Deirdre. 'I can take Siobhán's place since she's too scared to go!'

'Three more years until you can go to Hogwarts, Emmet,' Deirdre shook her head, ignoring Siobhán's indigent exclamation of 'I am _not_ too scared!' and glancing around the platform. 'Here they are now, Skander.'

A family of five brunettes, all looking just as harried as the six of them, was making their way through the families littering the platform. 'Sorry we're late. Kain forgot his Prefect badge and we had to go back.'

'Ohhhhh, Kain, I bet when Professor Dumbledore finds out, he'll take it right away and give it to someone else!' Bríd teased her older cousin, who just stared down at her as if he, a fifth year Prefect, couldn't be bothered with his lowly third year cousin. Rolling her eyes, Bríd turned towards her other cousin. 'Aria, did you see what Lee had? He had it in a box! Have Fred and George seen it yet?'

'Yes! Lee was trying to make Angelina Johnson hold it when I passed them! It's a giiiii-gantic tarantula. It was as big as Lee's _hand!_' Aria gushed, her Gryffindor sweater wrapped tightly around her to keep the chill of the September air from hitting her skin. 'When does Ravenclaw have their trials?' Aria gestured at Bríd's broom.

'I don't rightly know,' Bríd admitted. 'I need to find Roger Davies on the train to ask him. I mean, I know I've got my spot back, but they still have to be all fair and open it up to everybody. It's a bunch of rubbish, it is.'

'I want to be a beater _just like Bríd!_' Gráinne skipped over with her purple cat and both the older girls huffed in annoyance at being bothered by a first year.

'First years can't play quiddich, Gráinne,' Bríd told her. 'And you can't have a broom until you're a second year. Plus, you don't even know what house you'll be in.'

'Ravenclaw, obviously! Just like you! And just like Mum and Dad and Uncle Vincent and Aunt Sheila and Cousin Kain. I want to be in Ravenclaw just like everyone else!' Gráinne was practically exploding with excitement to get to Hogwarts and be sorted into Ravenclaw, a far cry from her twin, Siobhán, who was still clinging to her father and unsure if she were at all magical enough for Hogwarts.

'Oi! What about Gryffindor?' Aria poked her, proudly puffing out her chest to show off the rich maroon and gold sweater.

'Well, I wouldn't _mind_ being in Gryffindor if I had to be, I guess. But I want to go to Ravenclaw! "Wit beyond measure is Man's greatest treasure!"'

'Round up, you lot. Everyone named "Desford" over here,' Vincent Desford called to his children and nieces and nephew alike. Siobhán looked up at her uncle, her hand still firmly locked her with father's; Gráinne nearly knocked Emmet as she clamoured as close as possible. Kain only looked vaguely interested, mumbling something about needing to meet up with the other Prefects. Aria and Bríd rounded out the group and, once all seven were as close as possible, the goodbyes began. Ciel, the youngest of the cousins, started crying as his sister and brother were both given pocket change enough to buy two or three sweets each.

Deirdre handed out the same amount to Bríd, Gráinne and Siobhán as Emmet looked on enviously.

'Can't we go too?' Emmet asked, looking at Ciel. 'I want Chocolate Frogs too!'

'You don't go to Hogwarts to get Chocolate Frogs, Em,' Skander smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair. 'We'll stop on the way home and get you and Ciel a few Chocolate Frogs, alright?'

Emmet nodded, but still looked longingly as the Hogwarts Express.

'Have you got everything you need?' Sheila straightened Kain's Prefect badge. 'All your books?'

'Yes, Mum,' Aria said, waving excitedly at Fred and George as they passed with a short, black haired boy wearing wire-rimmed glasses that she didn't know. 'You checked our trucks three times this morning. I think we have things we don't need.'

'You both have your permission slips for Hogsmead?' Sheila turned to Aria.

'Yes, Mum,' Kain and Aria answered together.

'Alright, you two,' Vincent put a hand on his wife's shoulder. 'Go put your trunks away. And come back afterwards!'

Kain and Aria hurried away with their luggage and owls towards the train. Kain helped Aria life her trunk up before lifting his own. They strapped the owl cages into the special cage holders and spoke to a few friends before slowly wandering back to their family.

'Don't loose Aibell, Gráinne,' Skander warned, pointing at the still-purple Maine Coon cat in his daughter's arms.

'Daddy! I won't loose Aibell!' Gráinne rolled her eyes and hugged her cat. 'And even if I did, Aibell's smart enough to find her way home.'

'Regardless,' Deirdre smiled, 'do not loose her. Your grandmother would be very upset if you lost your birthday present.'

'I won't,' Gráinne sighed, snuggling her face into the cat's neck. Aibell made an annoyed noise and batted at Gráinne's nose with her paw.

'Mam, stop it!' A short, sandy haired boy knocked into Gráinne's back as he tried to sidestep his mother's hand. Gráinne glared at him as he walked away and readjusted the grip on her cat.

'Come on, girls,' Skander drew Gráinne's attention away from the boy. 'Let's get your trunks on the train, shall we?'

With Skander's help, the trunks were packed away in record time. Siobhán clung to Skander, looking like she wanted to cry, as Deirdre hugged Bríd and then Gráinne. She held her arms out to Siobhán, who dropped Skander's hand and ran to her mother.

'You're going to be alright, darling,' Deirdre kissed her hair. 'You're going to love Hogwarts. I promise.'

'I'm going to miss you and Daddy,' Siobhán said tearfully.

'I know. We're going to miss you too. We'll right you as often as you want.'

'Promise?'

'Promise.'

'Dad needs his hugs too,' Skander joked and both Bríd and Gráinne jumped on his at the same time. 'Love you, my wild girls.'

'Love you too, Daddy.'

'C'mon, Siobhán,' Skander smiled at her. 'I need my quiet one too.' Siobhán joined the hug willingly and Skander kissed all three of them. 'Okay. Onto the train, girls. Everyone have everything? Nothing let behind?'

The girls shook their head and gave their aunt and uncle quick hugs as well before joining their cousins in shuffling onto the train. Kain waved at his parents a last time before heading up the train to the first compartment where the Prefects were gathering. Bríd and Gráinne waved and shouted final goodbyes excitedly out the window and Aria, always the mother hen, squeezed Siobhán's shoulder reassuringly as they waved while the Hogwarts Express pulled out of King's Cross.

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Welcome to the Harry Potter universe of Thalia and Peri! Mmmkay... So! One of my besties, Peri (aka gryffindoranime), and I are working on this story together and I'm super excited about it. We hope you like it!**

**Thanks for reading and, please, tell us what you think - good or bad!**

**Love, Thal and Peri**


	2. Year One: The Hogwarts Express

**Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter.**

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><p>Bríd and Aria dashed up the train in search of their friend Lee Jordan and his giant tarantula. Bríd was excited and wanted to see the wonderfully hairy spider, but Aria was a bit more reserved at the thought of the hand-sized arachnid. As long as the Lee's tarantula stayed in its' box, Aria thought she'd be fine, thought she had a nagging suspicion Bríd would want to hold the creature.<p>

They both stopped when they heard a scream and Bríd shouted happily. A few more compartments up, they spotted Lee Jordan's thick brown dreadlocks amongst a throng of excited students.

'There!' Bríd pointed, grabbing her cousin's hand and sprinting the last bit of the way.

'Bríd!' Aria protested as Bríd dragged her along, but Bríd ignored her and within a matter of seconds they were shoving their way past their classmates until they were stopped right next to Lee.

Aria shut her eyes and cringed as Lee pulled the spider out of the box. Bríd shouted in amazement and Aria took her cousins' momentary distraction as a chance to wretch her wrist away.

'Lee, let me hold it!' Bríd insisted and Lee carefully handed over the tarantula.

'His name's Jantu,' Lee told her and Bríd let Jantu crawl up her arm.

'Jantu's legs feel funny!' Bríd laughed. 'They're sort of sticky. Aria, loo – Aria?'

Aria had slowly been backing away, wanting to put as much distance as possible between herself and the adorable, sticky-footed Jantu. She kept backing up until she back up right into something solid. Jerking her head to see what she'd backed into, she saw one redheaded, freckly-faced Weasley twin beaming down at her.

'Scared, Ar?'

'Shut up, Fred!' Aria snapped defensively. Fred just grinned.

'It's just a spider.'

'Just a spider the size of my hand! It's very cool. As long as it stays in it's box. Or way, way over there.' Aria watched as Bríd stroked the spiders' back with a finger and laughed with Lee over something. 'It will be far less cool if it comes anywhere near me outside of his box.'

Fred laughed and squeezed her shoulder.

'Stop making fun of me, Frederick Gideon Weasley!' Aria crossed her arms over her chest.

'Awww, lighten up, Ar,' Fred's laughing smile never left his face. 'I'm just teasing.'

Aria stuck her tongue out at him. They watched as Bríd handed Jantu over to George, who parroted her comment about the spiders' sticky legs. Bríd laughed as Jantu darted up George's arm and tried to go under the collar of his jumper.

'Oh no you don't!' George cried, grabbing the spider before it could.

'Georgie, you have a boyfriend!' Bríd joked as George struggled to keep the spider from attempting to crawl beneath his jumper. 'Ohhh, Jantu _looooooves_ you, Georgie!'

Lee leaned against Bríd's side as he laughed heartily at his friend and his spider. He doubled over as George grabbed Jantu by the leg and dragged him from where he was trying to sneak under George's sleeve. Aria shuttered. Jantu could stay far, far away.

'Can I have him again?' Bríd asked George, who gladly handed the tarantula over to the eager blonde. 'Where'd you get him, Lee?'

'My older brother, E.J., brought him back from Saudi Arabia,' Lee explained loudly enough for Aria and Fred to hear. 'E.J. went there to study this summer. He brought back loads of cool stuff. Like Jantu and he brought Mum back a magic carpet.'

'A flying carpet?' Fred called out excitedly.

'Yeah! I mean, it's not exactly one of the really good, expensive ones. It can only go a mile or two before it needs a rest, but it's still really cool,' Lee told them with a huge, wide grin. 'I wish I could have gone, too. But E.J. sent tons of owls with pictures and stuff.'

'The only exciting thing I did was go to visit Granny and Granda in Ireland,' Bríd said wistfully as she put Jantu back in his box.

'At least you got to go somewhere,' Aria told her cousin as she and Fred got closer now that Jantu was put away. 'Our Granddad just came to visit us. Didn't even get to go visit him in London.'

'Don't you guys have the same grandparents?' Lee asked, making sure Jantu's lid was secure. By now, the crowd had dissipated and the five friends made their way into their compartment.

'Our dads' parents are both dead,' Aria reminded him. 'So we just have our mums' parents. Bríd's mum's parents live in Ireland. My mum's dad lives in London.'

'You told me that before, didn't you?' Lee put Jantu's case in his bag and sat next to Bríd.

'Probably,' Bríd answered for Aria.

'You and your funny Irish mum,' Fred teased Bríd, pulling a handful of toffee he'd nicked from his mum's candy jar out of his trouser pocket, tossing one to everyone. 'And your funny Irish names. _Breeeeeej_…'

Bríd retaliated at Fred's drawing out her name in a faux mocking fashion by throwing the balled up wrapper at him as she popped her toffee in her mouth. She was about to say that her mum was _not_ funny (except when she meant to be, of course) and neither was her name, but their compartment door slid open before she could.

'Gráinne Lasagna!' Fred cried merrily at the sight of the second set of twins standing in the doorway, 'and Pecan Siobhán!'

'More funny Irish names!' George called out with a laugh.

Gráinne scowled at the smiling redhead, adjusting her grip on her still-purple cat, 'Stop rhyming our names with food, Fred Weasley! Or I'll start calling you "Dead Fred!"'

'Dead Fred! I love it!' George grinned. 'Gráinne, do one for me!'

Her threat did not produce the effect she'd wanted and short, freckly brunette dropped Aibell and scowled as Fred began shouting phrases like 'Scourge George' and 'Engorge George.'

'Scourge doesn't work,' Gráinne snapped with her hands on her hips. 'It doesn't rhyme properly!'

'Oh, c'mon, Lasagna,' Fred grabbed her arm and pulled her over so he could ruffle her hair. 'I bet you can come up with good food names for us! We'll be those weird twins with food names.'

Gráinne tried hard not to smile, but in the end she mumbled, 'Bread Fred and Porridge George' under her breath.

'Bread, Porridge, Lasagna and Pecan!' George's smile took up his entire face. 'Perfect. What do you think, Pecan?'

Siobhán smiled shyly and nodded, but didn't say anything.

'Bríd,' Gráinne turned her attention to her older sister, 'can Aibell stay here for a bit? Neville Longbottom lost his toad Trevor and Siobhán and I want to help him look for it. But it's hard to look holding a fat, fluffy cat.'

'Sure, sure,' Bríd mumbled around a mouth practically glued shut with very sticky toffee, anything to get rid of her annoying little sisters so she could continue hanging out with her friends.

'Thank you!' Gráinne and Siobhán were gone before the five third years could change their minds. Siobhán waved to a worried, round-faced boy down the corridor and he gave a small wave back. 'C'mon, Neville, don't worry. We'll find Trevor.'

'That's right, Neville,' Siobhán gave him a wide, reassuring smile, very glad to focus on Neville's toad instead of worrying whether or not she would be sorted into a house. 'Trevor will be fine. I'm sure we'll find him right away.'

'Gran's going to be so upset if I loose Trevor. My great-uncle Algie gave him to me for getting into Hogwarts,' Neville wrung his hands, distraught at the thought.

'You don't have to worry,' Gráinne assured him, 'because your gran won't be upset, because we'll find Trevor straight away. Neither Gran nor great-uncle Algie will ever find out that Trevor had his own adventure on the train.'

'Really?' Neville looked hopeful.

'Really,' Siobhán squeezed his hand. 'Come on. Let's check that next car and see if Trevor is there.'

Gráinne slid open the door to the first compartment on the left while Neville and Siobhán went to the first on the right. Gráinne asked loudly if any of them had noticed a loose toad. The three older students sitting there looked around to check before saying sorry, but no, they hadn't.

Neville looked close to tears at the announcement, but Gráinne beamed a thank you, closed the door and moved on to the next door. The trio repeated their actions all the down the train, enlisting the help of a bushy haired girl with large bucked teeth who introduced herself as Hermione Granger.

Hermione declared she was going to try the other direction and was gone before Siobhán could tell her that they had just come from that direction. Gráinne shrugged and pulled open the next compartment.

'What do _you_ want?' spat a pale, pointy-faced boy with platinum blond hair. A pug-faced girl sat next to him and across the compartment two gorilla-like boys stood, cracking their knuckles threateningly.

Neville cowered, but Gráinne just asked, 'Have you seen a toad? We've lost ours.'

'A toad?' They pointy-faced boy started laughing. 'What sort of pathetic person brought a toad? I'd rather die than bring a _toad_.'

'No one asked you to keep it!' Gráinne's face darkened angrily. 'I just asked if you'd _seen_ it.' And with that, she slammed the compartment door shut. They could hear the laughter through the door.

'I'm never going to find him,' Neville moaned tearfully.

'We'll find him, Neville,' Siobhán patted his arm.

There was a great shout of excitement and two boys tore down the corridor, chasing a whirling, flashing something as it whirled and flashed past them. A tall, lanky black boy ran past first, followed closely by the short, sandy haired boy who had knocked into Gráinne on the platform.

The sandy haired boy was far less graceful than his taller friend and he knocked into Gráinne a second time. His foot landed on hers as he tried to follow the other boy's path between Gráinne and Neville and Gráinne lost her balance, crashing backwards into the door of the rat-faced boy's compartment.

'Dean, wait up!'

'Hurry, Seamus!'

Seamus didn't turn back to apologize for knocking Gráinne over and Gráinne scowled furiously. She started to push herself back up with Neville's help just as the compartment door burst open.

'You again!' The blond boy's face was cruel. 'Crabbe, Goyle –"

'What's going on?' Kain stepped out of one of the Prefect compartments. 'Gráinne, Siobhán, what's all the noise about?'

'Some stupid boy knocked me over,' Gráinne grumbled as she brushed off her bottom. The compartment door slid closed quietly. Apparently, Kain's shiny Prefect badge held at least some weight with the snooty boy.

'Why are you two up here, anyways?' Kain asked, looking from Gráinne to Siobhán. 'I thought I had you two settle farther down in the train. And where's your cat, Gráinne?'

'I left her with Bríd,' Gráinne was rubbing her elbow, which hurt a bit from hitting the metal door.

'What are you doing up here?' Kain repeated his question.

'We're looking for a toad,' Siobhán explained.

'What toad? You brought a toad?' Kain looked from girl to girl, baffled.

'I brought a toad!' Neville sniffed miserably. 'My great-uncle gave him to me and I _lost_ him!'

'What's your name?' Kain asked him.

'Neville Longbottom,' Neville rubbed at his red nose.

'I'm Kain Desford. I'm Gráinne and Siobhán's cousin. I'll help you find your toad, alright?'

Neville nodded and gave a weak smile. Siobhán squeezed his hand encouragingly while Gráinne moved on to the next compartment and threw the door open.

'Have you seen a loose toad anywhere?'

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Yayayayay~~ forever flailing. I dunno why. Just wanna flail.**

**THANKS FOR READING! Please, tell us what you think, good or bad!**

**Love, Thalia and Peri**


	3. Year One: The Sorting Hat

**Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter.**

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><p>'Desford, Griánne,' Professor McGonagall read the next name off the list and Griánne squeezed her twins' hand before pushing her way through the crowd to hurry up the steps. She turned and sat on the chair, suddenly overwhelmed by a thousand strange faces staring at her expectantly. She felt Professor McGonagall place the tatty hat on her head and waited as it slipped down over her eyes. What was the hat going to do?<p>

'I'm going to look into your head.'

Gráinne nearly jumped at the small voice in her ear.

'Fearless, are you?' the voice continued. 'No, not fearless, reckless.'

'I am not!' Gráinne whispered indignantly.

'No? Are you sure? Perhaps "curious," then. Unchecked curiosity. Eager to try new things. Impetuous almost. Yet a day dreamer.'

'Stop it!' Gráinne told the voice, her words hushed.

'A spitfire. Defiant too. Where to put you? You have courage, combined with your curiosity, you could do great things. But with curiosity like yours, there is the risk of disaster. Smart. Good mind. But can you keep your curiosity in check before it becomes recklessness?'

'I am _not_ reckless!'

'Oh, but you could be. No desire for power, though. Odd, a very peculiar child, you are. Where to put you? Ravenclaw might be good for you. But then, Gryffindor would be too.'

'Ravenclaw,' Gráinne insisted. 'I want Ravenclaw. The only one I want. That's where I belong.'

'Ravenclaw, eh? You're smart, curious, strong-willed, unbending, defiant with an undeterrable conviction that you are right… you can only belong in GRYFFINDOR!' The last word was shouted aloud for the entire hall to hear and Gráinne's heart sank, but before Professor McGonagall could pull the hat from her head, the voice became small in her ear again. 'A true Ravenclaw would have been excited to learn from any house, including Gryffindor.'

And with that final, parting word, Professor McGonagall pulled the hat from her head and Gráinne slipped quietly off the stool and headed towards the cheering Gryffindor table on the far left side of the Great Hall, sadly passing the Ravenclaw table as she did. Aria pulled her in for a hug and a congratulations and Gráinne shoved a smile on her face like she was really happy with her new house. As she sat a few spots down from Aria, Gráinne glanced, longingly, at table full of students with blue striped ties to wave at her older sister. Bríd smiled encouragingly and waved as Professor McGonagall read off the next name.

'Desford, Siobhán.'

Siobhán squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. The Sorting Hat couldn't send her home, right? She _was_ magical enough for Hogwarts. Her dad said that – Professor McGonagall called her name a second time and there was a slight ripple of laughter through the Great Hall. Siobhán opened her eyes and saw Professor Dumbledore smiling fondly at her over his half-moon spectacles. Neville whispered 'go on!' in her ear.

Ascending the steps before Professor McGonagall could say her name again, Siobhán turned and sat, red faced, on the stood, training her eyes on her shoes to avoid looking at any of her classmates. When the Sorting Hat covered her eyes, she felt relieved.

'There, there,' a small voice sounded in her head. 'Every head I've sat on has been just as nervous as you. No need to fret. Now lets see what's inside that mind of yours, shall we? Clever, yes, very clever. Like your sister that way. But very different otherwise,' the voice mused and Siobhán wondered what the hat had said to Gráinne. 'A head full of cleverness, no doubt about it. But full of caution as well. You were the one to tell your sister to stop and think before she acted, I'm sure.'

Siobhán didn't speak and the hat chuckled. 'Loyalty – and protectiveness too. Ravenclaw would test your cleverness, nurture it properly. But Hufflepuff…' the small voice trailed off and Siobhán knotted her hands in her lap.

'You have patience,' the hat noted. 'Many like to argue with me while I decide, but not you. Caution and patience, cleverness and loyalty – you must be a HUFFLEPUFF.'

The table full of Hufflepuffs cheered as Professor McGonagall pulled the hat off her head. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor clapped for her as well while she rushed down the steps to join the Hufflepuffs. Only the Slytherins remained quiet, a few rolling their eyes as she passed their table. Gráinne caught her eye and grinned. Bríd and Kain both waved at her from the Ravenclaw table and Aria clapped extra loud until Siobhán was seated at the far right table.

'Welcome to Hufflepuff!' the good-looking boy with brown hair and grey eyes next to her said. 'I'm Cedric Diggory. You're going to be great, Siobhán.'

Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones both smiled at her from across the table. Susan had looked nearly as terrified as Siobhán had felt when she had gone up to be sorted.

'Thank you,' Siobhán found her voice. 'I'm glad I got Hufflepuff.'

Cedric gave her a handsome smile that made her blush and Siobhán jerked her head down to stare at her empty plate. She crossed her ankles and swung her legs back and forth, twisting her hands together in her lap and hoping her ears weren't bright red. Susan giggled and a few minutes later 'Finch-Fletchley, Justin' sat on Siobhán's other side, grinning widely.

Siobhán was surprised when he stuck out his hand to shake hers, but she shook it anyway as he introduced himself even though they had all just heard Professor McGonagall call his name out loud.

'Siobhán,' she smiled, remembering his face from the train.

'You were helping that boy look for his toad,' Justin recalled. 'Did you find it?'

Siobhán nodded that Trevor had indeed found his way home and Hannah and Susan repeated their names for Justin as well. The freckly boy who had knocked into Gráinne was sitting on the stool – he had been for a while now. No one had taken this long so far and Siobhán was starting to wonder when the hat finally shouted 'GRYFFINDOR!'

Siobhán immediately glanced to the Gryffindor table and saw the annoyed scowl etched upon her twin's face as 'Finnigan, Seamus' hurried to the table and plunked himself down right in front of her.

'Something wrong?' Justin asked, noticing her grimace.

'Oh, no. No, nothing's wrong. Where are you from, Justin?'

The four first years chatted quietly as they watch the Sorting Hat shift through their classmates one by one and scatter them amongst the four house tables. Finally Professor McGonagall called Neville's name and Siobhán straightened in anticipation, trying to see over a rather tall boy partially blocking her view.

A minute ticked by and then another and another…

The hat had never taken _this_ long before. Not even with Hermione Granger and she had taken practically forever!

Crossing her fingers under the table, Siobhán squeezed her eyes shut and wished as hard as she could for Neville to be put sorted into Hufflepuff. When they had been talking on the train, Neville had admitted he wanted to be in Hufflepuff, so all the hat needed to do was put him there and they would have the best –

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Siobhán's shoulders fell and she opened her eyes to see Neville jogging towards the Gryffindor table with the hat still on his head. The Slytherin table laughed loudly when he had to run back to return the hat to Professor McGonagall and his face was the colour of a tomato by the time he sat next to Gráinne. Siobhán waited for him to look up so she could give him a wave, but Neville didn't look up from his lap as Gráinne patted his arm comfortingly.

'Potter, Harry?'

Every head in the hall jerked up as a small, scrawny boy with jet-black hair sat down on the stool and had his eyes covered by the Sorting Hat. People were whispering and excited electricity buzzed amongst them and Siobhán felt badly for the boy. If he was half as scared as she had been, the extra attention must be excruciating. After about a minute, the hat shouted 'GRYFFINDOR!' and the hall exploded.

'We've got Potter! We've got Potter!' The shouts of the Weasley twins overran everything else as small Harry Potter made his way, all smiles and apparently _very_ hapy with his new house, to sit next to Percy Weasley, who was grinning like he was accepting a prize on behalf of his house.

It took a bit for the hall to quiet down again and the next two students were barely noticed as they were sorted into Ravenclaw and then Slytherin. Finally, the last first year was sorted and Professor Dumbledore stood.

'Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!'

Siobhán laughed along with the rest of the hall as Dumbledore sat back down in his seat. Bríd had told them all about Dumbledore and his funny quirks. Her laughter was cut short as she gasped. The empty trays and platters and bowls in the center of their table were magically filling with more delicious food than she could imagine. And, as the smell hit her nose, she realized exactly how hungry she was and reached for the bowl of sausages.

'Wow…' Justin looked amazed, having just knowingly witnessed magic for the first time. 'That was brilliant!'

The entire meal was brilliant and no one could help themselves from trying a little bit of everything – or in some cases, a lot of everything. Yet, somehow, everyone still had plenty of room left when the puddings appeared.

'Gráinne? That's a weird name,' a first year named Lavender Brown commented as she stared at her, picking a chocolate éclair from the tray.

'No weirder than 'Lavender,' Gráinne replied around a mouthful of rice pudding. 'I'm named after my grandmother. She's a great witch. I'm going to be just like her.'

'_I'm_ named after my mummy's favourite flower!' Lavender said indignantly and looked at Gráinne with an air of distain.

'I'm glad I'm not named after some silly flower. Flower's wilt.'

'You know what her name means?' Seamus Finnigan grinned widely when Lavender and her friend Pavarti Patil both shook their heads. Neville and Dean Thomas looked curious as well. 'It means "inspiring terror."'

'It does not!' Gráinne protested, narrowing her eyes at the freckly-faced boy with untidy hair as Lavender and Pavarti both started laughing shrilly. Dean and Neville grinned, but didn't laugh. 'It means "grace!"'

'It does too,' Seamus made a face at her. 'It means "inspiring terror."'

Gráinne pursed her lips in a scowl and glared at him. 'At least _my_ name's interesting. Gráinne Ní Mháille is the coolest pirate ever! She's a lot better than anyone with _your_ name. Half the boys in Ireland are named Seamus.'

Seamus opened his mouth to retort, but Gráinne made a show of turning away from him and re-introduced herself to Hermione Granger, who was seated next to her. Seamus stuck his tongue out at Gráinne.

'Your sister got sorted into Hufflepuff, didn't she?' Hermione asked, picking up her glass of pumpkin juice.

'Yes,' Gráinne nodded. 'My older sister, Bríd, is in Ravenclaw. So is my cousin Kain. He's a Prefect. My cousin Aria's in Gryffindor, though. She's just there with Lee Jordan and Fred and George Weasley.'

'My entire family's been in Gryffindor for as long as anyone can remember,' Ron Weasley, Fred and George's youngest brother, jumped into the conversation. 'I'm glad I got in too.'

'We'd 'ave disowned you if you didn't, ickle Ronikins!' Fred called down and Ron flushed a brilliant red to match his hair, hunching his shoulders and trying to make himself small. George and Lee grinned at Fred while Aria smacked Fred's arm reprovingly and told him to be nice to his brother, which then lead to Fred and George beginning an animated discussion of everything they might do the 'be nice' to Ron. Dean Thomas came to Ron's rescue by announcing that he was a Muggle-born and that Professor Sprout had shown up at his house to explain to them that he was a wizard.

'A lot of things made sense after that,' Dean grinned, helping himself to a second treacle tart. 'Like why my brother started floating upside down once when we were fighting.'

'I've accidently turned my cat purple,' Gráinne looked around. 'Has stuff like that happened to anyone else?'

'I'm half and half,' the irritating Seamus piped up, interrupting her, and Gráinne frowned, resisting the urge to throw a fistful of pudding at him. 'Me dad's a Muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him.'

Everyone laughed, including Gráinne. Seamus grinned at her. Gráinne immediately stopped smiling.

'What about you, Neville?' Ron asked, taking an overly large bite out of a cake.

'Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch, but the family thought I was all Muggle for ages. My great-uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me – he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned – but nothing happened until I was eight,' Neville grabbed at Trevor as the toad tried to hop away down the table.

'Great-uncle Algie came round for tea and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my great-auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidently let go. But I bounced – all the way down to the garden and into the road. They were all really please. Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here – they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great-uncle Algie was so please he bought me my toad.'

'That could have been _really_ dangerous,' Hermione said with her eyebrows knitted together, 'hanging you out of a window. What if you hadn't bounced? You might have died!'

Neville blushed and Gráinne smiled. 'But he did bounce! It turned out all right. I'm glad you didn't drown at the pier, Neville.'

'I'm glad too,' Neville said seriously, grabbing Trevor again.

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><p><strong>AN: **

**We will only ever include Rowling's dialogue, never any descriptive text, and we will always put from where we lifted the dialogue. This is a book-first world, meaning that Peri and I follow book canon, not movie canon, though some scenes Steve Klove added into the movies and some of his dialogue will probably make it in as well because they're brilliant. Anyways, we will always tell you where un-original dialogue originates. We are using the cloth-bound hardcover Bloomsbury editions of the books, so all the page numbers will be from those books, but I'm sure with a few pages in either direction, you can find the dialogue in the other editions if you absolutely want to. Basically, there will be a "Dialogue Cited" bit at the end. ahahaha, I slay me. Okay, I'm sorry. English Major. Dialogue Cited... Works Cited? Okay, maybe that was only funny to me.**

**Okay, Thanks for reading, we hope you liked it and, please, tell us what you think - good or bad!**

**Love, Thal and Peri**

Dialogue Cited - All quotes from Chapter 7 of _Philosopher's Stone_

'We've got Potter!' – Fred & George 91  
>'Welcome! Welcome to… Tweak! Thank you!' – Dumbledore 91-92<br>'I'm half and… shock for him.' – Seamus 93  
>'What about you, Neville?' – Ron 93<br>'Well, my gran… me my toad.' – Neville 93


	4. Year One: Chained Ravens and Tabby Cats

**Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter.**

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><p>Aria hurried down the corridor, eager to meet up with her cousin Bríd for the first time since breakfast. She had just come from her first Care of Magical Creatures class and couldn't be more excited. She hoped her cousin had had as good a time in Divination with Professor Trelawney as she had with Professor Kettleburn. Aria rounded the corner and spotted Bríd leaning against the hall outside the library.<p>

'Care of Magical Creatures is the best!' was the first thing that burst from her mouth as she stopped next to Bríd. 'Professor Kettleburn brought unicorns today. They are so amazing! We got to pet them and I got to feed one. Plus, I earned Gryffindor five points. Next week Professor said we get to learn about the jobberknoll and the diricawl.' Aria paused to take a breath. 'It's seriously the best class. How was Divination? Is Professor Trelawney nice?'

Bríd shook her head and rolled her eyes. 'Apparently, Ar, I… am going to die. We did tealeaf readings. Professor Trelawney took my cup and read it for the class. She went pale, nearly dropped the cup and then proclaimed that "My dear! Oh, my poor, poor dear!"' Bríd's voice changed to a high, breathy falsetto and the blonde clutched at her chest with a horrified look on her face, her bright blue eyes wide with something supposed to resemble terror. '"Oh my poor dear. No! Do not make me answer! It is too terrible! I cannot – I will not –"'

Aria grinned at Bríd's acting as Fred, George and Lee walked up, each holding a pear they had just filched from the kitchens. Lee started to asked what Bríd was doing, but she cut him off, her voice normal before she returned to her breathy, dramatic imitation of Professor Trelawney for Aria's amusement.

'So, of course, everyone and their owl wants to know what she saw in my cup. "My dear, you have much pain and strife in your future. The knives beside the ape… a secret enemy will cause you great pain and disaster. A broken chain predicts trouble and wrapped around a raven…"' Bríd paused and closed her eyes, as if in great pain, '"the raven is death…"'

Aria couldn't help it – she'd never heard anything quite so ridiculous and she burst out laughing. Lee nearly dropped his pear as he threw his head back, barking out a laugh. Fred and George's face were identically identical in their hilarity. Bríd grinned happily and gave an exaggerated, sweeping bow. There was nothing Bríd loved more than preforming and making her friends laugh.

'I should have listened to Mum when she said not to bother with Divination,' Bríd leaned against the wall next to her cousin. 'The entire lesson was a load of rubbish. As if soggy tea leaves could predict my future. Though, Louise Clarke kept glancing at me like she expected me to expire right there in front of her. Go face down in my tea leaves or something equally ridiculous.'

'And why didn't you, you inconsiderate trollop?' Fred asked indignantly, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised.

'I figured I'd at least wait until after lunch,' Bríd shrugged. 'Do something really dramatic like fall off my broom at quiddich trials or beat myself with my own bat. Or I could be smothered by my pillow.'

'You could drown in your pudding,' Aria suggested, which encouraged Fred and George to start spouting off way in which Bríd could meet her demise.

'A bookshelf could fall and crush you.'

'Gnomes could bite you to death.'

'Your tie could strangle you.'

'Your tea leaves might seek revenge for you doubting them and stuff themselves in your nose and mouth and suffocate you.'

Bríd laughed so hard she snorted, which only made her laugh harder. Professor Snape eyed them suspiciously as he swept past and the twins made faces at him after he had rounded the corner. Aria glanced at his watch. "Transfiguration in four minutes. We should go. Fred, did you get –'

'Pear for the animal lover,' Fred handed Aria a pear from his bag before turning to Bríd and pulling out a roll, 'and bread for the girl who's allergic to nuts and uncooked fruits and vegetables.'

'An enemy could sneak some sort of nut into my food…' Bríd pretended to eye Fred suspiciously as she took the offered roll. 'Should I trust you, Fred Weasley?'

'Absolutely not,' he shook his head seriously as they walked down the corridor towards the transfiguration classroom.

'Oh well. Sourdough's worth it.' Bríd took a bite of the roll. As they got closer to the door, she staggered, grasping at her throat and pretending to gag and sputter.

'Miss Desford…' Professor McGonagall sighed her name as she walked up on them on her way to her classroom.

'Sorry, Professor!' Bríd smiled winningly and stopped faking her death. 'We're deciding how I'm going to die.'

'Am I to assumed that you have become Sybill Trelawney's latest victim, Miss Desford?'

'I am.'

'Latest?'

'Yes, Mr Jordan. Every year, Professor Trelawney greets her new third years by predicting the death of one of their classmates.' Professor McGonagall's tone betrayed the fact that she thought lowly of the _art_ of Divination. 'I'm glad to see you are not putting too much stock in your prophesied death, Miss Desford. Divination is a very… inaccurate science. I do not set much store by it, myself. Nor do I have much patience for those who do.'

'Professor, is it too late for me to switch Divination for Arithmancy?' Bríd asked as she followed her into the classroom.

'I don't see why it would be. What electives are you taking?'

'Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination,' Aria answered for her as she sat next to the empty seat Bríd would soon fill. 'She's being an overachiever.'

Bríd stuck her tongue out at her cousin as more Ravenclaws and Gryffindors slowly filed in as well. Professor McGonagall suppressed a smile. 'I don't see why that should be a problem, Miss Desford. You will need to talk to professor Vector and, with her permission, I can change your schedule.'

'Thank you, Professor!' With that, Bríd plopped down in her seat beside Aria and began pulling out her _Intermediate Transfiguration_ textbook, some parchment, a quill and ink bottle, all of which Aria had already pulled from her bag. Fred and George had a shared copy of the book open between them – neither one of them willing to admit to their mother that the other copy, the one that had belonged to their oldest brother Bill, had accidently been used to put out a small fire they had caused in their bedroom when one of their experiments turned out not quite as they intended. Lee got stuck sharing a desk with an unkempt, smelly Ravenclaw boy that no one particularly liked, Wills Alden, and Lee's displeasure showed on his face as he also unpacked.

Aria and Bríd whispered and giggled while the classroom filed. When every seat was occupied and the final bell had rung to indicate classes had begun, Professor McGonagall waved her wand at the door and it swung closed with a satisfyingly loud thud.

'Welcome back to Hogwarts,' she greeted them. 'I trust you all had an enjoyable summer holiday and are ready to resume your studies. We will start this year on the topic on animagus. Can any one of you tell me what an animagus is?'

Aria's hand shot into the air first and Professor McGonagall nodded at her. 'An animagus is a witch or wizard who can turn into an animal at will.'

'Very good, Miss Desford. Two points to Gryffindor. Can anyone explain how an Animagus differs from a Metamorphmagus, which we studied last year?'

No one raised their hand and Professor McGonagall waited. And waited. And waited until a Ravenclaw boy in the very back ventured a hand up.

'Mr Kearn?'

'Well, Metamorphmagi can change their appearance, but they can't make themselves into something entirely different.'

Professor McGonagall awarded him two points before looking to see if anyone else had anything to add. Bríd raised her hand tentatively.

'Metamorphmagi are born Metamorphmagi. They don't have a say in whether or not they want to be a Metamorphmagus.'

'Who wouldn't want to be a Metamorphamus?' Fred cracked a joke and the classroom snickered.

'But don't Animagi have to use magic to become Animagi?' Bríd went on as if Fred had never spoken. 'Animagi aren't born animagi. They become animagi by choice. Right?'

'A very good guess, Miss Desford. Two points,' Professor McGonagall nodded and turned to point her wand at the chalkboard, upon which words began appearing. 'An Animagus chooses to become an Animagus. The magic required to become an Animagus is highly complex and dangerous should the witch or wizard fail. Because of this, the Ministry of Magic keeps a close eye on those attempting the feat. It is so complex, that there are only seven registered Animagi this century.'

Professor McGonagall paused and stayed quiet as quills scratched out the last of what she had been saying. Students looked back up, expecting more to write in their notes, but Professor McGonagall didn't continue speaking. This had never happened before. The transfiguration classroom had never been silent in the two years they had spent time learning there. Professor McGonagall was either teaching and expecting them to take detailed notes or the stone walls reverberated with students practicing spells and Professor McGonagall walked up and down between the desks correcting them. The room had never been silent.

Just when the silence was getting particularly unsettling, Professor McGonagall morphed into a sleek silver tabby cat. The classroom erupted in cheers and applause as the silver tabby cat sat on the desk and swished her tail back and forth. After a about a minute Professor McGonagall morphed back into her normal self, but the applause didn't diminish.

'THAT WAS WICKED!' Lee shouted.

'Thank you very much, Mr Jordan.'

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Thanks for reading, we hope you liked it and, please, tell us what you think - good or bad!**

**Love, Thal and Peri**


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